Behind the Mask
by the-curse-of-angelica
Summary: Even Murderers have memories and Cheshire is no exception. I might add more chapters.
1. Chapter 1

The kids on stage all clasped hands and bowed. The applause echoed throughout the gym, doubling the sound. People ran up and congratulated the actors, while parents discussed the play amongst themselves.

"The girl who played the Cheshire cat was amazing," they whispered.

"Yes, she captured the character perfectly"

Yet the girl was oblivious to these statements. She didn't notice as someone handed her a bouquet of flowers and a rolled up poster. As she made her way to the locker room to get changed, she looked frantically over the crowd searching for someone. "They promised they would come," she thought. Then she heard a voice.

"Jade, over here!" It was her little sister. Jade grinned and ran over to her.

" Arty, so you and Mom made it?," she said. Her sister's face fell and Jade knew the answer to that question.

" Mom looked like she'd been crying, she said something came up," Artemis replied

This happens all the time Jade thought. " So how did you get here then ?"

"I walked," Arty said.

Jade was immediately concerned. A little girl walking through the streets of Gotham alone was one thing, but at night, well that was even worse. It just showed what kind of parents they had. " Promise me you'll never do that again, Arty. Let me get changed and then we can go home, okay."

"But we'll have to walk back, Jade."

"You'll be safe with me, I've had training." Gotham city thugs were nothing compared with their father. But her innocent little sister didn't know that yet.

When they got to the door of their apartment, muffled yelling could be heard from inside. Jade looked over her shoulder at Artemis, who was riding piggybacked. She looked tired but scared. Neither wanted to go inside and get into the middle of their parents argument, but if their father found out that they had not come back yet, the consequences would be even worse.

" Come on," Jade said, " We'll just have to go in the back way."

And with that she left the building and ran around the block to the back Of the apartment complex to the fire escape. With her little sister still on her back, she nimbly climbed up the rusty old fire escape to their floor. The window to the bedroom was about five feet from the edge of the fire escape. " Hold on tight Arty," she said. Then she grabbed onto the edge of the top of the window and in one leap swung them both inside the open window and into their bedroom.

She closed the bedroom door softly to block out the yelling and other noises coming from the kitchen. Then she helped her sister get ready for bed.

" You really are like a cat, Jade, the way you can do stuff like that." Artemis said as she changed into her pajamas, " You know Cheshire kinda sounds like a superhero name. If you ever became a superhero you could call yourself that" she yawned and flopped down onto her bed.

" I don't think the justice league takes ninjas, but you're right, that is a cool sounding name," Jade smiled.

" No, you'ld make a great superhero, sis."

"hmm, maybe someday," she murmured as she looked down at the poster that had somehow found its way into her jacket. On it was a picture of Alice standing under a tree. And in the shadows of the tree was the Cheshire cat. No, she thought, the Justice League wants Alices, not creeps who hide in the shadows. But there are always other options. Whatever it takes to get out of this place… She hung the poster on her wall and fell asleep to the sound of dishes being smashed and her parents fighting.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you hate me, Jade," Artemis whispered.

Jade paused on her way to the door. No, she thought, I don't hate you. In fact, you're just about the only person in this city I can't hate. But I'm afraid I might start to if I stay in this place any longer. "Artemis, you need to grow up. It's about time you realize that you have to make your own future. You can't always be relying on me to help you. I've made my choice and know no one can change my mind. Goodbye, little sis." On second thought I'll take the window, she thought as she headed towards it.

" But you'll come back someday, won't you?", Artemis had a pleading look in her eyes, "please."

What she wanted to say was, I promise you when I'm richer and able to take care of you, I'll come back and take you far away from here. It'll be just you and me and we can do all the fun things we never got to do as kids with Mom. But Jade knew she couldn't keep a promise like that. She, who didn't even know which street to take after she left this apartment building.

So instead she said, " You're wasting my time." And with that she jumped out the window and headed out into the night with a bit of fear and uncertainty in her heart, but mostly just excitement. After all, the Cheshire cat isn't supposed to be the confused one.


	3. Chapter 3

Jade leaned down over the railing on the second story of the town mall watching the young couple in the food court below her eat lunch. _What kind of twenty-year olds go on a date at McDonalds,_ she scoffed. But watching the way they joked and laughed with each other made her smile to herself. This was the first time in a long time Jade had seen her little sister so at ease joking and eating french-fries with her boyfriend Wally. _Kidflash had better be good to her, _thought Jade while watching the two, _Lord knows I wasn't._

It had been four years since she had last seen her sister. Four years since she had fought her in the woods. Four years since she had saved her from the avalanche and four years since they had both betrayed their father. Jade had to admit that she had missed Artemis in those past years and that she wanted to speak to her again, but she just couldn't bring herself to approach her baby sister. If she did, then she would be forced to answer all her sister's questions. Artemis wasn't an idiot, she would notice that Jade was pregnant. And if Jade had nothing else, she still had her pride. She didn't want her little sis to know how, like a fool, she had forsaken her life of crime to marry that good for nothing loser, Red. Or that, she had run back to her old ways because he wasn't paying enough attention to her, only to find out a month later that she was going to be a mom.

No, Artemis didn't need to get caught up in all of that mess. She had a promising life, a good boyfriend, an education, the Justice League. Jade just knew that despite all that faked hatred between them, Artemis would throw everything away to help her older sister. Artemis didn't deserve that.

So Jade watched her sister from a distance. She stayed leaning against the railing long after Artemis and Wally had gotten up and walked away holding hands. Jade had never felt so peaceful in her life as she stood, staring at nothing, and daydreaming about the way things used to be. Then she remembered why she had come to this mall in the first place. She smiled ruefully, straightened herself up and walked off in search of the maternity department.


End file.
